Having begun serving their tenure in the metal scene back in the early 90's, you can bet that Fear Factory have experienced numerous ups and downs throughout their career. Despite this, the past few years look to have been their most harrowing yet, with founding guitarist Dino Cazares being forcibly ejected from the line-up, complete with a subsequent war of words; not to mention the fact that they also left their longtime label, Roadrunner Records. Such activities led the general public to believe that the band had closed up shop, and with good reason too as everything seemed to have fallen apart. However, such adversity seems to have only fueled the fire as the group have quickly rebounded with bassist Christian Olde Wolbers switching over to the guitar duties, and ex-Strapping Young Lad four stringer Byron Stroud being brought in to fill the subsequent void in the rhythm section.

"Archetype" is the bands first album for their new label Liquid 8 Records and if anything it is a return to the intensity and raw aesthetic of their past. Rife with distinct similarities to the outing that most were introduced to group by, 1995's "Demanufacture", this is Fear Factory at their cyber metal finest. They sound leaner and hungrier than they have in years, and it is shown clearly in the antagonistic industrially tinged metal on hand. It's been all too long since this quartet (quintet when counting perpetual collaborator Rhys Fulber) focused more on their physical strengths than they have their cerebral ones and when listening to this album one wonders why they ever stopped. As a result of this altered approach, the band have for the most part managed to curb the overblown operatic and haphazard experimental nature of their last few outings. Whether it be a result of the lack of internal strife, the new label, or just some time away, the group just plain sound healthy now and it shows. In fact, this sense of cleansing appears to be a major theme of the album as the title track features the lyric "the infection has been removed, the soul of this machine has improved" - words that leave little to the imagination when knowing the groups recent history.

Those who had thought the band had totally lost the plot with "Digimortal" should find "Archetype" to be proof that they have once again landed on the right track. It may not be completely devoid of the mistakes that have plagued them in the past, but it is definitely a step in the right direction. Sure there are a handful of songs on this album which drone on and lapse into synth-laden melancholy, but they can tend to be overlooked thanks to the re-emerging heavier elements that make up the first half of the record. For all it does right "Archetype" isn't so much a reinvention for the band as much as it is a return to form. With that being the case, it's hard to praise them for anything more than once again finding themselves as there isn't much new ground being covered here. The riffs aren't all that impressive, sounding structural rather than innovative, and the song writing, while cohesive and aggressive, isn't exactly breaking the mold. Despite this though, it's hard not to enjoy what these boys have laid out here, an incredibly solid metal album which hints that the best may still be yet to come.